Bottle vending mechanism



July 11, 1950 R. WARNER ETAL 2,514,815

BOTTLE VENDING MECHANISM Filed March 11, 1948 a j Y FJ INVENTORS ATTOR/VEY Patented Jul 11,1950

Thisinvention relates to'lbottle vending mecha-- nism'. ...Ihe.invention ismoreparticularly concerned withcanovel releaselstruc'turefor use in bottle vending mechanis'm.; D r The present invention isan-improvement over the structure disclosed. in. Patent No. 2,174,712issuedlto R W.1'Warner;' and the primar object of the inventionzis.to-yprovidex-a releas mechanismwhich, is'substantially. simpler'inconstruction than that; of the patent while being equally as effective,:Lwhereby: it.;is: capable of construction at substantiallylesscost. r

A further object of theinvention is-the provision. of areleasejmechanis'm for use in a bottle vending machine which iscapableof adjustment for the handling .of bottles ehaying, differentsize necks. r I. 1.. lgFurther obj ectsv and advanta es of'theainvention will becomeaapp'arentin the course of the followingdetailed description, taken in connection withsthe accompanying drawing,wherein Figure 1 is an elevational view of the improved releasemechanism as viewed from the bottle entrance side thereof, the'casing'being shown in .dotand-dash lines for greater clarity, of the essentialelements entering into th present invention.

. Figure 2 is a fragmental view similar to Fig. 1, but showing theposition of elements when a bottle is being released.

Figure 3 is a fragmentaltop plan viewshowing .the operative relation of.the. release mechanism to other parts of a common bottle vendingmachine. I

Referring now in detail to the drawing, D designates a portion of adispensing unit or vending machine, such as shown in the above referredto Warner patent, and which includes spaced slats S defining the bottleguide-ways, and a top wall T, a frontwall F and a rear Wall E definingthe '***"'a...aiiiiltnna.; and Harold "B. Smalley, r

. l5 .engageable-by the bottle B:when being'withdrawn-, -and the part l5merges into and overhangs a vertical portion l5 disposed between.bracket .l;2 andja bottle B when in seated posiv Blool 'nington', IApplication March 11, 1948, Serial No. 4,313 '7 Claims. (cigars- 8s tionon base It.

The guide further includes. an elongated hori-' zontal portion I 6havinga. threaded. stud He gtending-through an elongated-slot |i8 ;in.-a guide member l9 .depending from a plate 20 supported.

in an opening in top wall T. Theportion l tterminates in a dependingflange I 5 which opposes aspaced. similar flange 122-' depending from. a

horizontal portion ,22 carried by plate '28.

A screw 23' extendsthroughfian e Z2 and has arounded end engaging flange56', whereb surface, Himay bemoved closerto the. trap fornarrower-necked bottles rafter which a nut 2L on. stud. 1 is drawnup tolock guidev surface l 5 initsset position, and the screw 23 i providedwith. aYlock nut :24 to prevent inadvertent turning;

thereof. The .trap

clude relative rotation therebetween.

neck portion of a bottle B to pass therebetween,.

but such space is insufficient to permit passage of the wider bodyportion of the bottle there-- through. Further, in this normal position,the flangeZl is disposed to one side of the opening 0 thereby permittinga bottle B to be moved into the position shown in Fig. 1.

With the bottle in the position mentioned, a

purchaser deposits a coin, which results in unadjustable guide I4includes a rounded surface looking the shaft 28 and thereby freeing thegate I3 for rotation. The bottle may then be grasped beneath the lipthereof and raised as in Fig. 2,. which results in counterclockwiserotation of the gate due to pressure of the bottle on the arcuateportion 25, and as the gate rotates sufiicient space 13 .includesarelatively. heavy L-shapedcasti'ng. 26 merging into a flange 2?, and.the tra'pfincludes anarcu'ate bottleengaging. edgeportion' 25. [The trapis secured to a shaft .23 'whi'chlexten'd's' through the rear wall R andinto a wellflknown form of coin-controlled -mecha-= nism, the shaftpreferablyincluding a squared. portion 29 extending through the. castingto. pre-- admission opening 0, thereby preventing an-.

other bottle from being moved into releasing position until after thegate has returned to its normal position, as in Fig. 1.

When the bottle is finally withdrawn,the greater portion of the mass ofthe gate will be disposed to the right of shaft 28,.and this un-.

balanced weight in the gate will tend to return it to its normalposition of Fig. 1, the gate, however, being positively moved to suchnormal position by the spring 28"which acts on shaft 28 and is a wellknown element of a coin-controlled mechanism.

While we have disclosed the invention in accordance with a singlespecific embodiment thereof, such is to be considered as illustrativeonly, and not restrictive, the scope of the in:- vention being definedin the following claims.

What we claim and desire to secure by U. S. Letter Patent is:

1. A release mechanism for use in a bottlevending machine having spacedfront and rear Walls with 'a bottle-admission opening in'the front wall;said mechanism comprising a guide overhanging the opening at one sidethereof and a gate disposed between the walls at the opposite side ofthe opening, said guide and gate in the normal position of theparts-including opposed portions Spaced apart a substantially lessdistance than the width of said opening and being positioned forreceiving the neck of a bottle therebetween, and said gate being,rotatably supported for movement from said normal position through anangle of substantially 90 and including surfaces unequally spaced fromthe axis of rotation wherebysufficient space is provided between theguide and gate to permit the passage of the body of the bottletherebetween as the bottle is vertically withdrawn from between-saidwalls. 1

. '2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein said guide isadjustably supported for movement thereof toward or from the gate forthe handling of bottles having difierent size necks.

3. The structure according to claim 1, wherein said gate includes aflange which closes said opening as the gate is rotated to thebottle-releasing position.

4. A release mechanism for use in a bottlevending machine having front,rear and top walls and: a" bottle-admission opening in the front wall;said mechanism comprising a guide and a gate disposed between said wallsand at opposite sides of said opening in the normal positions thereofand defining therebetween a bottle-receiving space, said guide and gatehaving opposed portions overhanging said opening and spaced apart adistance to receive there- 0 Number between the neck of a bottle andsaid distance being less than the diameter of the body of thebottleysaid gate being supported by a coincontrolled mechanism shaft andthe gate being rotatable with the'shaft from said normal positionthrough an angle suflicient to swing the said portion of the gate awayfrom the cooperating portion of the guide-to permit release of the bodyof the bottle from therebetween.

5. The structure according to claim 4, .wherein said shaft is connectedwith the gate adjacent said neck-receiving portion thereof whereby theweight of the gate" when rotated to bottle-releasing position will beunbalanced relative to the'shaft and the gate will accordingly beassisted by gravity in its return to normal position.

6. The structure according to claim 4, wherein said gate is providedwith a flange movable over said opening as the gate is rotated tobottlereleasing position.

7. The structureaccording to claim 4, wherein said guide is adjustablysupported from said top wall for movement relative to said gate forREFERENCES CITED 'The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Warner et a1 Oct. 3, 1939 CunninghamOct. 7, 1941 Baker Oct. 28, 1941

